Month: November 2016

State court blocks Kansas dual voter registration system

The Shawnee County District Court today permanently blocked a dual voter registration system in Kansas.

The action means that those people who registered on a federal election registration form in the motor vehicle offices will be able to vote in the election on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

The court had issued a temporary injunction in the Brown vs. Kobach case previously.

Kansas had said previously that persons who had registered through the motor vehicle offices and had not shown proof of citizenship would be allowed to vote only for federal offices, not state and local offices. The ruling today means they can vote for all offices on Nov. 8.

There were separate election Kansas lawsuits in state and federal courts. Previous cases have been appealed by the secretary of state’s office. Those who registered to vote at motor vehicle offices are fully registered at this time for the Nov. 8 election, a spokesman said.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which brought the case to court, issued a statement today from Sophia Lakin, an ACLU staff attorney: “This ruling is a victory for Kansas voters and a stinging rebuke of Secretary (Kris) Kobach’s repeated efforts to improperly use his authority to obstruct their access to the ballot. This decision recognizes that Kansans’ right to vote in state and local elections should be honored, no matter what registration form they used.”

Conservative newcomer challenges moderate incumbent in 36th District, Kansas House

Running for state representative, 36th District, are incumbent Rep. Kathy Wolfe Moore, a Democrat, and Kevin Braun, a Republican. The other state representatives here are unopposed.

Rep. Wolfe Moore has served as a state representative since 2011 and is the business director for the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kan. She is a former chief of staff for former Mayor Carol Marinovich. A lifelong resident, she has served on the Livable Neighborhoods task force, a former member of the St. Patrick’s school board, is currently the chair of the Wyandotte Economic Development Council, serves on Healthy Communities Wyandotte and is a member of the Wyandot Center, Mental Health Center board in Wyandotte County.

Braun said he was a lifelong conservative, with 30 years experience in business. He has worked for Fortune 500 companies. He is a U.S. Army veteran with two overseas deployments. He has a master’s degree in business law from Friends University, and has been a Kansas resident since 1998. He has not previously run for office.

At a candidate forum on Oct. 17 sponsored by Business West, Kansas City Kansas Community College and other local nonprofits, several differences were noted between the 36th District candidates’ positions on the issues.

About the state budget, Rep. Wolfe Moore said because of the governor’s unfair tax scheme that destroyed the budget, killed jobs and lowered the state’s credit rating several times, the damage has been done to schools, mental health, highways and pensions.

“We need more common-sense moderate legislators, who are willing to put politics aside and do the right thing,” Rep. Wolfe Moore said. She said she has a reputation for working across party lines, and always putting policy ahead of politics.

She said the 2012 tax plan is draining the budget and causing it to be unbalanced year after year. There have been significant cuts to schools and highways, she said. She said the tax plan needs to be fixed. Currently, money is simply being given away to LLCs that were formerly taxed.

Braun said the Legislature isn’t going to change in the next election. What is needed is to send a conservative to work with conservatives to bring back to the 36th District what it deserves, he said. “I would love to go to Topeka and work with the people there in a positive way,” he said.

He added he was not an apologist for those in office who made the previous decisions. He said he favors supporting small businesses with proper tax regulation. There probably should be some small areas where changes are needed, “but to say we’re going to repeal everything and put it back on small businesses, … that’s unacceptable,” he said.

Rep. Wolfe Moore said she voted last year to rescind the LLC business loophole, because that would raise about $250 million, to help close the budget hole, and it’s a matter of fairness. “Everyone should have to pay for the upkeep of highways, or schools, or mental health. There shouldn’t be a few selected people who don’t have to pay that fee.”

She said she understands trying something new, but when it doesn’t work, it’s time to take a different direction. The conservatives and leaders have been unwilling to take a different direction, which is irresponsible, she said.

“The last thing we need in this election is another conservative who will side with them and will side with the governor,” Rep. Wolfe Moore said.

She said legislators need to come up with a new school funding formula, and she favors any program that pays for what it actually costs to educate the child. She said there is misinformation, an “accounting trick,” that Kansas has increased funding when it has not. Superintendents across Kansas are saying they have not experienced this increased funding, and they need the funding, she added.

Braun said legislators need to stop pointing fingers at each other, set a fixed budget for the next two years, decide on one formula for two years, analyze how other schools educate children for less, and come together and vote on a plan. He is open to any plan that pays the full price. “And stop fighting in front of the kids,” he said.

Braun said he is running for office because he felt his opponent was not voting in the interests of the 36th District, but for special interests.

He said that residents wanted property tax relief, reopening The Woodlands, small business growth, and an end to blaming each other on education funding.

Campaign finance

Braun reported total contributions of $100 from July 22 through Oct. 27, according to campaign finance statements. He made $20,000 in loans to his campaign, and reported expenditures of $18,293.

Rep. Wolfe Moore reported total contributions of $23,500 to her campaign from July 22 through Oct. 27. She had $42,608.82 available at the start of this reporting period. Rep. Wolfe Moore, who faced primary opposition, spent $28.208.82 by Oct. 27, according to the campaign finance report.

For a schedule of the candidate forums being shown on cable television, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/candidate-forum-being-shown-on-cable-television/

Candidate websites:
For more information on Rep. Wolfe Moore, visit http://www.kathywolfemoore.com/
For more information on Braun, visit http://kevinbraunks.com/

For information about voting and advance voting, see https://wyandotteonline.com/advance-voting-begins-tuesday-in-wyandotte-county/ or http://www.wycovotes.org/

To see who is on the ballot, visit http://wycokck.org/uploadedFiles/Departments/Election_Office/Sample%20Ballot_General_%202016.pdf

To find your polling place, visit https://myvoteinfo.voteks.org/VoterView/

Internet comes to KCK public housing

by Mary Rupert

Spanning the digital divide takes the effort of more than one group in Wyandotte County.

On Wednesday, residents of a public housing complex in Kansas City, Kan., signed up for Internet service with help from Google Fiber, Connecting for Good and the Surplus Exchange.

One resident of the Cyrus K. Holliday public housing complex at 1750 S. 37th Court in Kansas City, Kan., who signed up for the Internet on Wednesday said it will be very helpful for the children to do their homework at home. Sometimes their homework involves accessing the Internet, she said.

Rachel Merlo, Google Fiber community impact manager, said Google Fiber has worked with the Kansas City, Kan., Public Housing Authority to identify families with kindergarten through 12th grade children to help them close the homework gap – where they don’t have access to the Internet at home.

Rachel Merlo, Google Fiber community impact manager, said this is an effort to help families with kindergarten through 12th grade children help close the homework gap. (Staff photo)
Rachel Merlo, Google Fiber community impact manager, said this is an effort to help families with kindergarten through 12th grade children help close the homework gap. (Staff photo)

At the same time, there are benefits for adults, such as access to job postings, Merlo said. In serving similar communities in Kansas City, Mo., since February, they have already seen residents using the Internet to find a job, to find a car to go to the job, and to make child care arrangements, Merlo said.

One resident is now going to school and will be able to use the Internet in her adult education, Merlo said. Some residents are just figuring out how to use computers and the Internet to stay in touch with friends and family, and some have tried video conferencing.

While many families already have a smart phone, this program is partnering with nonprofit organizations to bring low-cost, refurbished devices such as a laptop or desktop computer to do some of the more highly involved tasks, such as a job search, Merlo said. The organizations also provide them with free training.

Merlo said she would love to see all the residents of the 60 units in the Cyrus Holliday complex sign up for the free service. Often there is a lot of excitement at the beginning for the service, then followed by more signups later. There sometimes is skepticism from people who wonder if it is really free and think that they might be billed later, so she said Google and the organizations work to build trust in the community.

Merlo said two more Housing Authority properties, including Chalet Manor, will come on line this year. There are plans to connect a total of seven Housing Authority sites in Kansas City, Kan., eventually, according to Connecting for Good.

Tom Esselman, CEO of Connecting for Good, said a combination of available Internet connectivity, computer devices and training were offered at the housing site on Wednesday. All three have to go together for people to improve their lives through the technology, he said.

Connecting for Good tries to take the emphasis away from the technology and more toward life improvement, he said. Esselman said the organization helps with education skills, career skills and life skills.

“So much of our world is digitalized any more, that for people who live in low-income diverse areas, many of them have not even had access to those skills,” he said. “Now that they have the access, we want to make sure that they are able to take advantage of them,” he said.

Connecting for Good provides free training classes, he said, and it provides some used computers and equipment on a smaller scale. Surplus Exchange does recycling of computers on a larger scale, he added.

In Wyandotte County, Connecting for Good works with Workforce Partners, he said. Connecting for Good trains people on how to refurbish and work with computers. Interns refurbish computers, then the computers are made available to

That allows the organization to make computers available for $50 or $75, prices that some low-income people can afford, he said. The organization has been doing this program for four years, he added.

“People get more use out of equipment that they have had to pay money for,” he said. “They feel that they have bought into it.”

It also helps Connecting for Good, a small not-for-profit, offset some of its costs, he added.

“We partner in every Housing Authority site,” Esselman said. Google Fiber provides the connectivity, Surplus Exchange provides the hardware, with some help from Connecting for Good, and Connecting for Good provides the training, he added. The Kansas City, Kan., Housing Authority is also a partner, has provided a location for Connecting for Good at Juniper Gardens, and supports the ability of these organizations to do the work, he added.

“It opens up whole new worlds for them,” Esselman said.